A 30-year-old banger with thunder in his fists, former interim WBC Junior Welterweight Champion Lucas Martin Matthysse has a reputation for exciting fights and even more exciting finishes, and more of the same is expected every time he steps between the ropes to take on the best 140-pounders in the world.

The brother of former world title challenger Walter Matthysse, Lucas followed his brother into the professional boxing ranks in June of 2004, when he made his debut with a second round TKO of Leandro Almagro. Thus began a local reign of terror that saw Matthysse tear through the Argentinean boxing scene with frightening power and efficiency.

In his first three years in the fight game, Matthysse compiled a stellar 18-0 record with 17 knockouts. The only fighter Matthysse didn’t knock out, Bernardino Gonzalez, was disqualified in the third round. Eight first round knockouts were part of this amazing streak, and none of Lucas’ opponents made it past the third round.

On June 2, 2007, Ariel Francisco Burgos became the first man to extend Matthysse past round three, and he was knocked out in the fourth round in a bout that earned Lucas the WBO Latino super lightweight title.

In 2008, Matthysse’s string of excellence continued, as he went 3-0 with two knockouts and one no-contest. He even showed his ability to fight a hard ten rounds as he scored a near shutout victory over Carlos Adan Jerez on December 20, 2008.

In 2009, Luis Ernesto Jose (KO2) and Florencio Castellano (KO4) both fell at the hands of Matthysse, with the latter victory earning the Argentinean the interim WBO Latino title.

But his biggest victory was to come, as he stopped former world champion Vivian Harris in four rounds on February 20, 2010 to move even closer to a title shot that he hopes will come soon so he can bring a championship belt back home to Argentina.

On August 27, 2010 Matthysse defended his WBO Latino belt with a devastating first round knockout of Rogelio Castaneda Jr. in which he sent his foe to the canvas three times. This win set the stage for what was an epic battle against Zab Judah on November 6, 2010. Unfortunately, despite knocking Judah down and having him on the verge of a knockout defeat, the judges rendered a split decision in Judah’s favor. It was a controversial decision to say the least, but on January 21, 2011, he took his frustration out on former world champion DeMarcus Corley and left the judges out of the equation as he improved to 28-1 with 1 NC as a pro with an eighth round TKO win.

Questionable judging would rear its ugly head again five months later though, when Matthysse scored another knockdown and rocked his opponent, Devon Alexander, several times, only to lose an ultra-controversial split decision.

Disappointed by the verdict but not discouraged from his journey to a world championship, Matthysse bounced back with knockouts of Sergio Priotti and Angel Martinez that put him right in the 140-pound title mix, and after stopping Mexico’s Humberto Soto in just five rounds in June of 2012, he finally got his hand on a portion of a world title on September 8, 2012 as he stopped previously unbeaten Ajose Olusegun in 10 rounds to win the interim WBC 140-pound title which he successfully defended with a first round knockout of Mike Dallas Jr. in January of 2013.

Matthysse wasn’t done yet though, as he defeated former world champion Lamont Peterson via third round TKO on May 18, 2013 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, setting up a fight of the year candidate with unified Junior Welterweight Champion Danny Garcia on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez undercard on September 14. And though Matthysse would lose a 12 round decision to Garcia, he and his opponent delivered on all the pre-fight hype with a heated battle that had the fans in Las Vegas cheering.

It was a good omen for the future of Matthysse, who remains a legitimate threat in the division and one of the sport’s most popular fighters.